The Secret Genius Of Modern Life
The Secret Genius Of Modern Life is a TV show on BBC2. Hannah Fry uncovers the secrets behind the miraculous technologies of the modern world, revealing the mind-blowing stories behind their invention. The program has been available since 2024. A total of 8 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in April 2025.
Last episode
The Secret Genius Of Modern Life
Hannah hits the production line with appliance giants Bosch to find the lifeblood at the heart of every fridge and gets a lesson in carrot droop.
Catching up on The Secret Genius Of Modern Life?
Don't want to miss an episode anymore? Set up a free alarm and receive an email when new episodes are available. Handy!
Hannah takes a look at the air fryer – a device that is rapidly taking over people's kitchens, cooking up everything from bread rolls to baked Alaska and almost making ovens obsolete.
Series 2
Hannah goes behind the scenes to look at the technology behind the lift, entering a 246m high lift shaft to test everything from the brakes to her own fear of heights.
Headphones: these marvels of miniaturisation are worn by 30 million people in the UK. Hannah Fry visits Bose to find out how the teeny earbud tech works and meets the human testers with ‘golden ears’.
Hannah Fry discovers the hidden WWII radar technology that heats up baked beans and learns the legend of the melted candy bar in an engineer’s pocket that kick-started a kitchen revolution.
With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Hannah uncovers the technological game changers that have made the smartphone a reality.
Hannah takes a look at the vacuum cleaner, going behind the scenes with Dyson and discovering how the motor in their latest vacuum spins nine times faster than that of a Formula One race car.
Hannah gains access to a top-secret site where anonymous staff and the latest tech work to make the British passport one of the most secure documents on the planet.